The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in collaboration with CWay Water and Alfa Designs Nigeria Ltd., on Saturday held its fifth quarterly fitness walk to promote staff wellness, team bonding and social interaction among workers.
The exercise, which took place as part of NAN’s staff wellness initiative, brought together the agency’s management and staff for walking, jogging, stretching, games and other physical activities aimed at encouraging healthy lifestyles and stronger workplace relationships.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali M. Ali, said the fitness walk was introduced to promote wellness, togetherness and social interaction among workers of the agency.
Ali said the initiative, which began in 2024, had continued despite adjustments to its quarterly schedule, adding that the fifth edition showed the success of the programme in strengthening team spirit, promoting bonding and encouraging healthy living among staff.
The managing director said regular physical exercise was particularly important for media workers, who often spent long hours gathering, processing and disseminating news.
According to him, demanding work schedules and sedentary lifestyles could expose media workers to health challenges, including high blood pressure and diabetes.
Ali said NAN had provided a well-equipped gym at its headquarters and introduced a one-hour workload reduction twice a week to give staff more time to exercise.
He said the arrangement was also designed to encourage workers to pay greater attention to their physical and mental wellbeing.
The managing director added that NAN had extended the fitness initiative to its Lagos Directorate, where the exercise had been adopted as a monthly activity.
Ali said the fitness walk also gave management and staff an opportunity to interact freely, with official positions temporarily set aside during the exercise.
“Here, titles are all blunted. We are all one big family, working out together, building together and enjoying this conviviality and togetherness,” he said.
Also speaking, Somtochukwu Ifediegwu, a representative of Alfa Designs Nigeria Ltd., said the company was honoured to support NAN’s fitness initiative.
Ifediegwu described Alfa Designs as an engineering, procurement, installation, commissioning and asset integrity management firm committed to promoting healthy living.
She said the company had introduced its Genesis New Vision (GNV) application to help users monitor their health and fitness.
According to her, the application allows users to monitor their daily steps, set fitness goals and calculate calories consumed or burned.
Ifediegwu commended NAN, the organisers and participants for the initiative and expressed Alfa Designs’ readiness to further collaborate with the agency.
Similarly, Olwaseun Kumuyi, Regional Marketing Executive, CWay Abuja Manufacturing, appreciated NAN for giving the company the opportunity to participate in the exercise.
Kumuyi said regular exercise, stretching and adequate water intake were essential for maintaining strength and promoting healthy living.
He said it was the second time CWay was participating in the NAN fitness walk.
Kumuyi pledged the company’s continued support for the initiative, subject to the approval and backing of its management.
The exercise ended with participants taking part in walking, jogging, stretching and other physical activities aimed at promoting wellness, team spirit and stronger workplace relationships.
